Olympian Frederic Wandres Anchors German Team for the Victory in 2025 CDIO Compiègne Nations Cup

Shows

2025 CDIO Compiègne

-- FEI press release, edited by Eurodressage - The Eurodressage show/blog report will come asap

Photos © Eurodressage NO REPRODUCTION ALLOWED / NO SCREEN SHOTS for social media

After a career year culminating with a gold medal with Germany at the Paris Olympic Games (FRA), Frederic Wandres made a conscious decision to give his partner Bluetooth OLD a rest at the end of the 2024 season, and the pair came out for just one competition in January before taking another break from competition. Following those nearly-five additional months of downtime, Bluetooth OLD returned in triumphant fashion at the 2025 CDIO Compiegne (FRA), leading Germany to a CDIO5* FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ victory.

Wandres Leads Germany to Nations Cup Win

Fans had to wait until the very last test to see the pair in action, but the performance was worth the wait. With particularly high marks for the extended trot, extended canter, and piaffe, Wandres and Bluetooth (by Bordeaux x Riccione) received the best score of the day—on a day where just three scores above 70 percent were awarded. Their 75.696% mark comfortably lifted Germany to the top of the leaderboard as the nation assumed a dominant lead in the FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ standings.

Germany, Portugal, Holland

Led by chef d'equipe Monica Theodorescu, the German squad of Wandres (Bluetooth OLD), Raphael Netz (Dieudonne), Carina Scholz (Blue Hors Veneziano), and Matthias Alexander Rath (Destacado FRH) finished on a winning total of 215.522. Portugal finished second (209.152), followed by the Netherlands (207.783).

"We just did one World Cup show over the winter, because we wanted to be fit and super shining in the summer for the next European Championships. We hopefully improved a little bit at home and tried to show it today...I'm very happy." Frederic Wandres (GER)

Before Wandres entered the arena, things were closely bunched, as eight nations competed for Nations Cup glory. The Netherlands held the lead for a lengthy duration, thanks to a 72.522%-score from Marlies van Baalen (Habibi DVB). But Portugal took over the top spot just before Wandres' test, impressing as all three of its best scores were above 69%. It put just enough pressure on Wandres, who needed to score above 69.326 to land Germany on top of the podium.

"There's always a little bit of pressure. That's also necessary for me to get my blood pressure up a little bit," Wandres shared. "But I have to say, after Paris when we won the gold medal, you can really take a breath and say, 'Come on, you've handled so many difficult situations already...Try to shine, because you can do it.' Then the pressure is a positive pressure for you."

Home Team France

The French home team finished sixth this year after placing third in Compiegne in the Olympic year of 2024.

Team anchor Pauline Basquin and Sertorius Rima Z had to settle for sixth place with the modest score of 69.413%. Fellow Olympic team rider Alexandre Ayache and Jolène also fell short of their usual standard (14th, with 67.587). In their first selection for the French team, Bernard Bosseaux on Rilkadora Z and Caroline Godin on Querida de Hus had rather tricky debuts with 65.348 and 64.370%.

"For every country, post-Olympic years are difficult," said French team selector Jean Morel. ‘‘We performed well in Paris and that shook everyone up. We need to come back down to earth. Obviously, there's no cause for alarm. We had two new horses. They performed well without making any mistakes, even if there were inevitably a few things missing. We're going to try out a lot of things throughout the season. We need to give everyone a chance. We'll be ready for the World Championships at Aachen in 2026, which are qualifiers for the Los Angeles Olympic Games. That's all I live and breathe for. To enable the riders to be calm and confident, so that we can get a foot on the podium."

Drop the Reins

Olympic team gold medal winner Frederic Wandres anchor Team Germany for the Nations Cup win. The experienced rider did have to gather himself somewhat after a small blunder, when he dropped his reins at the opening salute.

"Maybe another horse would have made something else out of that situation. [Bluetooth] was completely calm and waiting for me until I picked up my reins again, and then he was ready to start and deliver a good test," Wandres said. "You know you can really trust him, and the horse trusts you to shine together when it's time to shine...He gives you so much confidence, like he knows everything."

"I think the horse deserved a 10 for the halt, because he was just waiting. 'Are you ready?' So this was a bit of a funny moment, especially that it happened to Frederic, because he likes to have everything really under control. He completely lost control, but horses help us in many ways," Theodorescu said. "I love the horse: He's so beautiful, and he's shining and brilliant, and he did a very good test."

"It's all Coming"

Theodorescu knew she could rely on her anchor combination, while she saw improvement from her squad's less experienced partnerships. Netz's horse Dieudonne (by Dante Weltino x Sir Donnerhall) was competing in a five-star competition for the first time. Scholz has only known Blue Hors Veneziano (by Vivaldi x Donnerhall) for a few months. Rath impressed with 12-year-old Destacado FRH (by Don Juan de Hus x Londonderry), whom he's had since the stallion was just a 2-year-old; they finished third individually (71.239%).

Marlies van Baalen is all smiles at the prize giving ceremony
with show organiser Monique Marini and judge at C,
Maarten van der Heijden

"'[Destacado FRH] has improved a lot, is a lot stronger, more connected and in a better frame. He did a very good test, I think," Theodorescu said. "The horse has a lot of possibilities with trot work, the canter is really very, very strong and good, and the collection is getting better. It's all coming there."

For Theodorescu, the Nations Cup is an important opportunity for her to utilize different combinations in a team setting and evaluate how they handle pressure.

"There is a bit more pressure in the Nations Cup than any other Grand Prix. It's always good to integrate new, younger riders and new pairs with a strong one like Frederic [and Bluetooth]," Theodorescu said. "This is one of the top Nations Cup events of the year, so it's very important for me to get experience with these riders and horses."

Germany in the Nations' Cup Lead

After winning the opening leg of the series in Wellington (USA), Germany holds a commanding lead in the FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ standings with 25 points. Portugal has moved into second (13 points), followed by the Netherlands (11).

The FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ resumes at CDIO4* Lier (BEL) on 16 May 2025.

Eurodressage will be taking photos of almost all CDI competitors in Compieène. If you are interested in photos for social media use or print, send us an email and you can BUY our photos. No reproduction allowed - NO SCREENSHOTS!